Remember when your music was innovative and cool and you could sift through rock n' roll past judgmentally?

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Well, those days are gone almost. In 100 years, it will be impossible to say who was genius and what was inventive. It's becoming one long mushy continuation, right? Like, the 20 year olds of today will have kids that will rediscover mid-80s post punk and reinvent it. In about 50 years,we'll have a new version of the sort of sonic noodling that led up to the grunge movement. The cool kids will be the ones who have their dad's Big Black "Songs About Fucking" on CASSETTE.

What do you think? I'm thinking that my collection is something I personally love, but in the end, I am not collecting any greatest of the greats sort of collection that means a fuck of a shit. It's not like these newfangled CDs are 78s or something, right? (By the way, my dad had a HUGE stack of 78s that were given away long ago. When I saw Ghost World, I became pissed that they were lost forever, when they were worth a fortune).

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well, yeah, isn't it always that way, not just with pop music, but everything? In 100 years, you won't be able to tell the difference between Nirvana and, say, Silverchair. Isn't that how history always works?

btw, the cool kids will be the ones who have Big Black on LP.

― Sean, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The COOLEST ones will have the "Rema Rema" bootleg. Of course, they will be social pariahs with bad complexions, little to offer outside of musical anecdotes, and will possess no pull whatsoever.

So this means that, in 50 years, we'll have groups that are like the modern-day Squirrel Nut Zippers, chatting whimsically about Crispy Ambulance and Big Flame and Josef K? It's possible. I'm almost afraid that what qualifies for nostalgia today will ALWAYS qualify as nostalgia. The gap between the modern-day and the nostalgia movements is speeding up - pretty soon, there won't be any nostalgia to reclaim! (Though that's probably false, too.)

Actually, I could go for a Big Flame revival right about how, what do y'all say?

― David Raposa, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Big Flame no. Big Stick yes. Must be abt time for the 'hardcore' revival - start sealing up those Head of David, Ut, Minutemen, World Domination Enterprises, Dredd Foole, Mission of Burma etc. etc. albs in mylar covers, is my tip.

― Andrew L, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No, by that time the LP factor of coolness will have given way to cassette.

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

This generational shift happens over and over again, and will do so into the future. Just talked with a co-worker yesterday about his visit to the R&R Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Imagine archaeologists finding the remains of that building thousands of years from now, and finding a museum dedicated to a thus-far miniscule slice of time, and focusing on mostly popular "Western civilization" music.

Now about running out of nostalgia, or having the re-examining of the past catch up to the present too quickly, nobody said it better than The Onion did a year or two ago:

"U.S. Department of Retro Warns: 'We May Be Running Out Of Past": http://www.theonion.com/onion3214/usretro.html

― Chuck Tomlinson, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I have that Big Black album on cassette!

― Kodanshi, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hmmm...

I don't buy records because I think they'll be important or worth something or have lasting historical or social impact.

I buy them on the off chance that I might like them and want to listen to them.

― Nick Southall, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm afraid all I have to say is "get over it." Life goes on. If you personally love your collection, that's what it's for. Maybe someone else will, too, later on. The really good stuff will be remembered, just as with all other music. It sounds more like you're worried about getting old than about your music.

― Lyra, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think it's pretty wrong to assume that as things recede into historical distance, we make LESS distinction between the good and bad.

Actually the opposite happens. As music becomes older we tend to highlight a few (often rather arbitrary) "classics" and forget the rest.

― phil, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Lyra, I hate it when people try to sound condescending, experienced, jaded and well-adjusted all at once.

Furthermore, I was never once upset by this. There's nothing to "get over". What's so great about judgementally sifting through rock n' roll past? Nothing. And I don't wanna read any dumbass comebacks like, "Oh well you sure sound all upset" or "and you just realized this?!" I amhowever upset that my dad's 78s were sold in my aunt's garage sale for probably 1/20th of what they were worth along with a cool old gramophone record player. Lots of cool,honest and old shit on beautiful 78 that I'd love to listen to now.

― Nude Spock, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Thank you so much for putting that in large print. I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed otherwise, and it was wonderfully intelligent criticism.

I'm sorry about yr dad's 78s. That wasn't what I was talking about in the first place.

― Lyra, Saturday, 4 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

five years pass...

ooooh big stick how i love you.

http://www.big-stick.org/music/

― mark e (mark e), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:03 (nineteen years ago)

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